Oliver Schmidt accused of conspiring to defraud U.S. officials and customers with vehicles featuring illegal software

A former Volkswagen AG compliance executive agreed to plead guilty in the U.S. to criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the German auto maker’s yearslong emissions-cheating deception, a court spokesman said.

Oliver Schmidt, a German citizen who for several years headed Volkswagen’s environment and engineering office in Auburn Hills, Mich., faces charges that he conspired to defraud U.S. officials and customers with diesel-powered vehicles featuring illegal software that duped government emissions tests.